System and method for asset tracking and monitoring

ABSTRACT

A multi-mode asset tracking and monitoring system and method is provided that enables comprehensive reporting of asset position, status, and alerts. In one embodiment, the multi-mode system and method is based on the addition of a local network monitoring system to a wide area satellite network monitoring system. In this example, the local network monitoring system would add container presence and status monitoring in crowded environments (e.g., within a port facility, on-board a ship, etc.), while the wide area satellite network monitoring system would provide tracking and monitoring coverage when the container is in dispersed environments. Both the local and wide area monitoring systems work together to provide end-to-end container tracking and monitoring to thereby ensure continuous container tracking and monitoring from container loading to container unloading.

This application claims priority to provisional application No.60/528,780, entitled “System and Method for Container Tracking andMonitoring,” filed Dec. 12, 2003. The above-identified application isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

This invention was made with Government support under contractDTMA1G02001 awarded by the United States Maritime Administration. TheGovernment has certain rights in the invention.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to monitoring and tracking and,more particularly, to a system and method for asset tracking andmonitoring.

2. Introduction

Security from terrorist actions has taken on an increased level ofprominence in the United States. These terrorist threats can arise frominternal sources or from external sources. With regard to external bornethreats, one concern is the tracking and monitoring of semi-trailers,rail cars, and related shipping industry assets in the container arenaas they cross into United States territory. Unless these assets can besecured and tracked prior to and subsequent to entry into the UnitedStates, the risk of terrorist activities will be significant. What isneeded therefore is a system and method for global container tracking.

SUMMARY

The present invention meets the above-mentioned needs by providing amulti-mode asset tracking and monitoring system and method that enablescomprehensive reporting of asset position, status, and alerts. In oneembodiment, the multi-mode system and method is based on the addition ofa local network monitoring system to a wide area satellite networkmonitoring system. In this example, the local network monitoring systemwould add container presence and status monitoring in crowdedenvironments (e.g., within a port facility, on-board a ship, etc.),while the wide area satellite network monitoring system would providetracking and monitoring coverage when the container is in dispersedenvironments. Both the local and wide area monitoring systems worktogether to provide end-to-end container tracking and monitoring tothereby ensure continuous container tracking and monitoring fromcontainer loading to container unloading.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe description which follows, and in part will become more fullyapparent from the following description and appended claims, or may belearned by practice of the invention as set forth herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and otheradvantages and features of the invention can be obtained, a moreparticular description of the invention briefly described above will berendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which areillustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawingsdepict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not thereforeto be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will be describedand explained with additional specificity and detail through the use ofthe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a system of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of a process of the present invention;and

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a local network portion of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of the invention are discussed in detail below.While specific implementations are discussed, it should be understoodthat this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled inthe relevant art will recognize that other components and configurationsmay be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

As noted, one of the security issues that has faced increased scrutinyis the risks associated with assets (e.g., containers, deployments,shipments, trailers, heavy equipment, vehicles, and other mobile assets)that cross U.S. borders. Security for these assets is a natural hazarddue to the inherent inability to control access to these assets alongtheir entire journey into and through a U.S. port. Typically, theseassets are brought to a foreign port, loaded onto a ship, transported toa U.S. port, and loaded onto rail or semi-trailer transport to adomestic destination. Throughout this journey, the asset is susceptibleto potential terrorist elements that seek to subvert the asset shipmentto their own purposes. Securing and tracking these assets throughouttheir journey into the U.S. is therefore a necessary task in reducingthe likelihood of asset-borne security threats.

In this environment, maintaining continuous tracking and monitoringvisibility of an asset is of paramount importance. A loss of visibilityprovides terrorist elements with an unchecked opportunity to access andsubvert an asset. Thus, one of the objectives of the present inventionis to provide a framework that enables an asset to be tracked andmonitored whether or not the asset is sitting in a rail or ship yard, orsitting on a train or ship during transport. As would be appreciated,each of these environments can present their own challenges in providingproper communication facilities that enable real-time or near real-timereporting of position, status, and alert information from the asset.

In designing a proper security framework where it is possible tomaintain contact with an asset during all phases of shipment from originto destination, it has become apparent that a single monitoringmechanism may not be sufficient to satisfy the security objectives. Inaccordance with the present invention, a multi-mode asset monitoringcapability is envisioned to provide high-availability coverage over arange of transport phases.

For example, satellite-based communications and positioning meansoperate with relatively small link margins and can therefore requirerelatively unimpaired paths from the terminal to the satellite. Suchpaths, however, may not be available within container yards, whereassets are often stacked. This problem can also exist in those assetenvironments where assets are stored within the bowels of a ship.

Terrestrial mode communications also have their limitations. Forexample, cellular systems offer much better link margins than satellitecommunications means except in fringe and shadowed areas. However, onceout of cellular coverage terrestrial mode communications does not work.The unfortunate consequence is that terrestrial mode communicationswould not supply coverage over many rail routes, and certainly not onoffshore shipping routes.

Notwithstanding the limitations of satellite and terrestrialcommunication systems, it is recognized that local monitoring networksseem to offer strengths precisely where satellite networks fall short(i.e., in relatively confined yard and shipboard environments). Here,local monitoring networks can represent those networks that are largelydirected to the operating area of the supported operation, such as in amarine terminal, a truck terminal, aboard a ship, on a train, in a railyard, in a shipping depot, in a tunnel, etc. In one embodiment, thelocal network collects information from terminals scattered within thelocal area, processes and screens the data, and presents it to acommunications node within the local area for routing to a remotecentral data collection facility. In this manner, a local wirelessnetwork simplifies the communications problem at the operating site(i.e., yard or ship) by enabling a single, central communications meansfrom the site to the central facility. In various embodiments, thiscould be done by Internet, leased line, wireless telephone or dataservices (e.g., PCS), another satellite network, or a combination of theabove.

It is a feature of the present invention that a local monitoring networkcan be used in combination with a wide area monitoring network (e.g.,satellite) to produce a multi-mode solution. This multi-mode solutionwould facilitate complete coverage across an asset's internationalroute. In this framework, the local monitoring network can be used toreport tracking and monitoring information to a central facility whenout of contact with a satellite network, while the wide area satellitenetwork can be used to report tracking and monitoring information to acentral facility when out of contact with a local monitoring network.Here, each mode would use a different communications network to reportasset position, status, and alert information. As would be appreciated,the various communications networks would have different performancecharacteristics, to thereby complement each other for a particularmonitoring application.

Thus, in accordance with the present invention, distinct modes ofnetwork communications can be used to monitor assets. In one embodiment,complementary modes of communication can also be used simultaneously orin sequence when multiple modes are available. Further, in oneembodiment, one network's availability can preempt report via anothernetwork, thereby increasing efficiency in communications network use. Inanother embodiment, each network could be used to provide reportswhenever available regardless of the status of another network, therebyproviding improved reliability through redundancy. In general, any onenetwork could facilitate control operations in another network, or forconfiguration of devices in another network.

Information from the various monitoring networks can then be combined orotherwise integrated at a remote central information processing anddelivery facility to produce a continuous tracking and monitoring logduring the asset's entire international journey.

To illustrate the features of the security framework of the presentinvention, reference is now made to the system diagram of FIG. 1. Asillustrated, the security framework includes asset 111 that is containedwithin a local area 110 (e.g., ship, ship yard, rail yard, or the like).Position, status, and alert information can be communicated to serviceoperations center (SOC) 140 via satellite 120 and antenna 130.

In one embodiment, SOC 140 is built around a relational data basemanaging all relevant system, user, terminal, and transaction data.Several back end servers manage internal system functions, such asterminal and protocol management and position solving, while front-endservers manage applications and web delivery. SOC 140 can deliverinformation to customers in a number of ways, including by web account,URL query, XML data delivery (including the XML trailer trackingstandard), email, and file transfer protocol (FTP).

As further illustrated in FIG. 1, asset 111 can include sensors 114 thatare used to detect various conditions at asset 111. In various examples,sensors 114 can be used to detect intrusion, light, movement, heat,radiation, or any other characteristic that would bear on thecontainer's security. Events detected by sensors 114 are communicated toservice operations center 140 using mobile terminal (MT) 112 and/orlocal network terminal (LNT) 113. It should be noted that while MT 112and LNT 113 are illustrated as separate devices, they can be combinedinto a single multi-mode device. More generally, the multi-mode devicecan be designed to communicate in any number of modes dictated by aparticular implementation.

In general, MT 112 can be used to communicate tracking and monitoringinformation to SOC 140 directly via satellite 120. LNT 113, on the otherhand, can be used to communicate tracking and monitoring information toSOC 140 through local area terminal (LAT) 116. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 1, LAT 116 would forward information communicated byLNT 113 to SOC 140 through satellite 120. In an alternative embodiment,LAT 116 can communicate information to SOC 140 using a leased line,Internet or other land-based connection scheme. The operation of thealternative communication paths reflected by MT 112 and LNT 113 will nowbe described in greater detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.2.

As illustrated, the flowchart of FIG. 2 begins with the detection bysensor 114 of an event. As noted, sensor 114 can be designed to detectvarious conditions such as intrusion (e.g., door sensor), light, heat,motion, radiation, or the like. As would be appreciated, asset 111 canbe configured to include any number or combination of sensors dependingon the particular application and level of security desired. Once sensor114 detects an event, it would then alert at least one of MT 112 and LNT113 at step 204.

In various embodiments, sensors 114 can be coupled directly to MT 112and/or LNT 113. For example, if sensors 114 are coupled directly only toMT 112, then a connection may also be established between MT 112 and LNT113, to thereby facilitate an effective connection between LNT 113 andsensors 114.

After MT 112 and/or LNT 113 has been alerted to the detected event, MT112 and/or LNT 113 would then proceed to communicate the detected eventinformation to SOC 140. Considering first MT 112, when any of sensors114 activates, sensor 114 awakens MT 112 and causes it to enter a modeto report immediately on sensor status and activation. This process isrepresented by step 206 where MT 112 would attempt to report the eventto SOC 140 through a direct connection to satellite 120.

In one embodiment, MT 112 is represented by the MT developed by SkyBitz,Inc. for use in their Global Locating System (GLS). The SkyBitz MT isbuilt to Mil-Std 810F and SAE-J1077 environmental specifications, and isbuilt as a software-configurable radio. Eight AA lithium batteries giveit a battery lifetime of 4500 position reports combined with ashelf-life of over 10 years.

The combination of the protocol and mobile terminal design enables themobile terminal to support position reports, MT paging (unscheduledrequests for information from the MT), event reports (unscheduled, realtime reporting of events detected by the MT), and low bandwidth datatraffic. The MT can accommodate multiple simultaneous assignments, andcan be configured remotely over the air. It also automatically adapts tochanges in the network, and roams automatically among beams within asatellite footprint and among satellites. The GLS system is configuredto use transponding satellites using the international geostationaryL-band mobile satellite allocation.

The MT supports a number of local interfaces through a singleweather-tight, triply-sealed connector. Through this connector the MTcan monitor two simple contact closure sensors and operates two internalswitches to control local external devices. It accepts external powerand uses it when present in preference to internal batteries. And itcontrols an RS-485 data bus, enabling communications with up to sixsimultaneously connected intelligent devices.

Referring back to FIG. 2, if MT 112 determines that satellite 120 is notin view, it would then set a timer at step 210 for a short delay (e.g.,seconds to minutes), go back to sleep, and reawaken when the timerexpires to try again. When the timer has expired, the process wouldcontinue back to step 208, where MT 112 would again determine ifsatellite 120 is in view. This process will repeat until it issuccessful. In one embodiment, timer intervals will increase withsuccessive failures to receive the satellite signal in order to conservebattery when blocked from satellite 120 for an extended period.

If MT 112 determines at step 208 that the satellite is in view, then MT112 would then proceed to report the event to SOC 140 through satellite120. In one embodiment, MT 112 reports the event by seeking an eventtimeslot or otherwise unoccupied timeslot (as evidenced by the forwardlink on that timeslot), and transmits a position and sensor statusreport over the corresponding return timeslot. It then proceeds to aslightly later timeslot to receive an acknowledgement. MT 112 will retryif it receives no acknowledgement.

As FIG. 2 further illustrates, a sensor alert provided to LNT 113 willalso cause LNT 113 to report the event to SOC 140. This process isrepresented by step 214 where LNT 113 reports the event using a localarea network. In one embodiment, LNT 113 receives the alert by sensor114 directly. In another embodiment, LNT 113 is awakened by MT 112.Here, when MT 112 initially awakens due to a sensor alert, it can bedesigned to also close an appropriate contact controlling LNT 113 toalert LNT 113 as well of the event. In one embodiment, LNT 113 can thensend “blinks”, or brief emissions, on an ongoing basis at regularsettable intervals (e.g., up to four minutes) between blinks. If asensor contact is closed, LNT 113 can immediately send a set of blinkswith the change in status.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, LNT 113 can be generally designed tocommunicate with LAT 116 via a local network connection. LAT 116 canthen proceed to communicate information generated by LNT 113 to SOC 140via satellite 120. In one embodiment, LAT 116 is embodied as a similarunit to MT 112. In this embodiment, the primary difference between LAT116 and MT 112 would be the item to which the units are fixed. MT 112would be fixed to an asset being tracked and monitored, while LAT 116would be fixed to an element within local area 110.

As would be appreciated, the specific method by which LNT 113 wouldcommunicate with LAT 116 would be implementation dependent. Oneembodiment of a communication mechanism between LNT 113 and LAT 116 isillustrated in FIG. 3. In this embodiment, location sensor 320 isoperative to listen to emissions by tags 310, which are individuallyfixed to the plurality of container assets that are distributed in alocal area 110. Location sensor 320 would then report inform server 330of the presence and status of tags 310 in local area 110. Any locationsensor 320 able to hear tag 310 in turn reports the change in tag statusto server 330. In one embodiment, several sensors 320 can be arrangedaround a local area 110 (e.g., ship yard, rail yard, ship, or the like)to locate each tag 310 using time difference of arrival techniques.

One example of tags 310 and location sensor 320 are the tags andlocation sensors manufactured by WhereNet, Inc. In general, WhereNet'slocal wireless locating and monitoring system has been used for locatingand monitoring tags within a yard, depot, or plant environment.WhereNet's WhereTags operate in the 2.4 Ghz Industrial, Scientific, andMedical band, and can be set up to emit periodically from every fewseconds to every few minutes. Tag emissions are spread spectrum, spreadacross 30 megahertz, and operate either at 2.5 milliwatts or 50milliwatts, depending on the model. Each emission contains data on tagidentity, tag state, the state of various sensor inputs, and otherinformation. Emissions last only several milliseconds each, permittingvery long battery life, up to seven years depending on type and reportrate.

After server 330 collects reported information from tags 310, server 330would then proceed to report this information back to SOC 140. In theillustrated embodiment, server 330 communicates with MT 340, which isoperative to transmit information to the SOC via satellite 350.

In one embodiment, communication between server 330 and MT 340 isenabled using the local RS-485 data bus of MT 340. In general, theRS-485 data bus supports among other things an RS-485 interface to localdigital devices. In this embodiment, the RS-485 interface is used totransport packets from server 330 to the SOC using satellite 350. Here,a software application hosted on server 330 extracts data from thedatabase on server 330, formats it, adds the necessary RS-485communications protocol layers, and deliver it to MT 340. At the SOC,application software would then extract the data from the incomingpackets.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the system andmethod of the present invention can be used in environments other thanthose disclosed herein. It will thus be appreciated by those skilled inthe art that other variations of the present invention will be possiblewithout departing from the scope of the invention as disclosed.

These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art by a review of the preceding detaileddescription. Although a number of salient features of the presentinvention have been described above, the invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways thatwould be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading thedisclosed invention, therefore the above description should not beconsidered to be exclusive of these other embodiments. Also, it is to beunderstood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are forthe purposes of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

1. An asset monitoring system, comprising: a. a data collection andforwarding device at a location where a plurality of assets reside, saiddata collection and forwarding device being configured to receive sensorinformation from a monitoring element fixed to a first of said pluralityof assets; b. a mobile satellite terminal fixed to said first asset,said mobile satellite terminal being configured to communicate saidsensor information directly with a data center by satellite when saidmobile satellite terminal is in view of said satellite; and c. asatellite transceiver stationed proximate to said location, saidsatellite transceiver being configured to communicate said sensorinformation from said data collection and forwarding device only if saidmobile satellite terminal is not in view of said satellite.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein said location is a ship yard.
 3. The systemof claim 1, wherein said location is a truck yard.
 4. The system ofclaim 1, wherein said location is a rail yard.
 5. An asset monitoringsystem fixed to an asset, comprising a. a first monitoring systemportion being operable to communicate directly with a service center viaa first satellite communication link; and b. a second monitoring systemportion being operable to communicate information to a remote monitoringunit using a local network for delivery by said remote monitoring unitto said service center via a second satellite communication link,wherein said delivery by said remote monitoring unit occurs only if saidfirst monitoring system is not in view of said satellite.
 6. The systemof claim 5, further comprising a server that stores sensor informationfrom a plurality of monitoring systems affixed to assets, said serverbeing operable to communicate sensor information to said remotemonitoring unit.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein said servercommunicates sensor information to said remote monitoring unit using theRS-485 communication protocol.
 8. The system of claim 5, wherein saidfirst monitoring system portion and said second monitoring systemportion are separate physical units fixed to the asset.
 9. An assetmonitoring method, comprising: a. detecting an alert signal from asensor fixed to an asset; b. communicating sensor information directlyto a service center using a satellite communication link between saidservice center and a monitoring unit fixed to said asset if saidmonitoring unit is in view of said satellite; and c. communicatingsensor information to said service center using an alternativecommunication path that includes a local network link, wherein saidcommunication occurs only if said monitoring unit is not in view of saidsatellite.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein said alternativecommunication path includes an Internet connection.
 11. The method ofclaim 9, wherein said alternative communication path includes a leasedline.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein said alternative communicationpath includes a satellite link between a second monitoring unit and saidservice center.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein sensor informationis provided by a server to said second monitoring unit using the RS-485communication protocol.
 14. A monitoring system fixed to an asset,comprising: a. a first monitoring system portion that transmits sensorinformation taken from the asset via a wide area satellite basednetwork; and b. a second monitoring system portion that transmits sensorinformation taken from the asset via a local area wireless network,wherein said second monitoring system portion is activated only when itis determined that said first monitoring system portion is not in viewof said satellite.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein said firstmonitoring system portion and said second monitoring system portion arehoused in separate and distinct units fixed to the asset.